So, Why Didn't He Ask Her Out Then?

[LJ_Reloaded]

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-attraction-doctor/201108/are-men-and-women-afraid-date

So, Why Didn't He Ask Her Out Then?

So, from a behaviorist standpoint, we cannot say that "fear" prevented a man from asking a woman out (or vice versa). We can only say that the combination of reinforcement and punishment did not elicit the behavior. This can be due to a number of reasons:

1. There was little or no reinforcement - Essentially, the man is not attracted to the woman. He didn't have enough of an incentive to ask her out. He needed something more positive to produce the behavior.

2. There was the possibility of punishment - Perhaps he though the likelihood of rejection was high, at least for that situation, according to his past history with such requests. Or, perhaps there were other punishing factors - loss of friendships, risks, friends making fun of him, etc. So, he avoided the behavior to avoid the negative consequences.

3. Both reinforcement and punishment were high - Maybe, even though the man was attracted to the woman (i.e. found her rewarding), he assumed there to be a higher likelihood of pain, failure, and rejection (i.e. punishment) than success. So, all things considered, he didn't ask.

It doesn't get any more factual than that. The barriers to reproductive success are too high for men, so men stop trying. So "Why didn't he ask her out" is actually the wrong question. The right question is too un-PC for feminists to ponder: "Why is dating so un-rewarding for men anymore?"